List of mammals of Pakistan

The markhor, is the National animal of Pakistan
The snow leopard, is the state-sanctioned heritage animal of Pakistan

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Pakistan. There are 173 mammal species in Pakistan, of which 0 are critically endangered, 9 are endangered, 14 are vulnerable, and 7 are near-threatened. The largest mammal in Pakistan is the Asiatic brown bear. Capra falconeri is the national animal of Pakistan.[1]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the IUCN:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT Near threatened The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

LR/cd Lower risk/conservation dependent Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/nt Lower risk/near threatened Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lc Lower risk/least concern Species for which there are no identifiable risks.

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

The elephants comprise three living species and are the largest living land animals.

Order: Primates

Rhesus macaque is the territorial animal of Islamabad

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Indian porcupine
Woolly flying squirrel
Acomys dimidiatus
Indian desert jird

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40 percent of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be keep short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Order: Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)

The order Erinaceomorpha contains a single family, Erinaceidae, which comprise the hedgehogs and gymnures. The hedgehogs are easily recognised by their spines while gymnures look more like large rats.

Order: Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and solenodons)

Asian house shrew

The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mammals. The shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice while the moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Egyptian fruit bat
Serotine bat
Lesser noctule
Megaderma lyra

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

Order: Pholidota (pangolins)

The order Philodota comprises the eight species of pangolin. Pangolins are anteaters and have the powerful claws, elongated snout and long tongue seen in the other unrelated anteater species.

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Arabian humpback whales off Dhofar, Oman
Pygmy blue whale skeleton at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History
Melon-headed whale

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Asiatic cheetah
Sand cat
Snow leopard, state animal of Pakistan
Indian wolf, a rare mammal of Pakistan
Asiatic black bear
Stoat
European otter

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which eat meat as their primary dietary item. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

Indian rhinoceros

The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Nilgai
Markhor, national animal of Pakistan
Blackbuck

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.
  2. ↑ http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/132835/0
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mammals of Pakistan.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.